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Difference between Keep a straight face and Keep straight

keep a straight face—(also: keep one’s face) refrain from showing one’s feelings by one’s facial expression:

  • All I felt called upon to do was to keep a straight face and pretend that everything was kosher.

keep straight—(also: go straight) be virtuous or well-behaved; refrain from criminal activities:

  • She meant to marry him in two or three years, if he proved he could keep straight in the meanwhile.